This invention relates generally to the art of medicine and more particularly to the art of treatment of skin lesions, skin ulcers, and other skin maladies, and the treatment of some circulatory disorders, and as a delivery device for transporting topically applied drugs through intact skin.
It has been known for many years that patients suffering from diabetes, phlebitis, or other circulatory problems often develop lesions or ulcers which are difficult to treat. The affected tissue is often poorly nourished or has impaired circulation and the resulting lesions may heal slowly if at all. Further, many diabetic patients suffer from neuropathy which predisposes the patients to falls and subsequent injuries which are slow to heal and subject to secondary infections. Infected areas which fail to respond to traditional treatment protocols often become gangrenous and require amputation of the affected limb.
The treatment for such maladies has involved two general strategies; One, an attempt to increase circulation to the affected tissue and secondly, to treat the lesions by the use of general antibiotics to prevent infection. For diabetic patients in particular, insulin packs and insulin/transferrin packs have been used in the treatment of diabetic gangrene. However, all of these methods have had only limited success.
One difficulty in the treatment protocol is that many useful medicines to treat skin circulatory disorders require oral, subcutaneous or other delivery systems because the biologically active molecules are unable to be effectively absorbed or utilized through the skin. To date, transport of many medicines is unable to occur through the skin surface. Therefore, much room for improvement exists in the art.